A place where I am able to raise some awareness about organ donation, ramble about my experiences on the waiting list and also life post transplant and diverge into other compelling and amusing things I may find along the way...

Sunday, December 30, 2012

2012!

2012 has been a pretty uneventful year for Kasper as he's been extremely well behaved keeping my creatinine nice and low. The rest of my body hasn't got such a glowing report though...yes ankles, I am looking at you! (Breaking two ankles and being in plaster hasn't exactly been a highlight of the year...!)

However due to the magic of Kasper I have been able to be part of the Clipper Round the World sailing race, which I blogged about here. The experience of sailing on a stripped down racing yacht with no sailing experience prior to Clipper was amazing - not to mention the fact that we sailed from San Francisco to Panama which took four weeks. We worked on shifts of four or six hours to keep the boat moving in scorching heats of up to 45 degrees, at times it was unbearable and sleeping was certainly out of the question. By the time we were a few days off Panama I became unwell and was so exhausted I was signed off the rest of the race. Although this felt like a bit of a blow at the time I am amazed I was able to take part in the first place and I had an incredible time meeting lots of amazing people - and of course raising awareness for organ donation at the same time.

Hopefully 2013 will be very uneventful for Kasper too. Not a day goes by without me feeling how lucky I am to have been given the gift of life by Oli and my quality of life is about a millions times better than the pre transplant days. 2012 has also seen me meet the most wonderfully special person I could have dreamed of meeting and for that I feel even luckier. Roll on 2013 and all the adventures you will no doubt come with!

The treatment of Polycystic Kidney Disease is aimed at controlling symptoms and preventing the complications. Diuretics, low salt-diet and anti-hypertensive drugs are prescribed to control high blood pressure. Infections are dealt through antibiotics. Drainage of cysts which are painful, bleeding and infected is recommended. One or the both kidneys may need to be removed if extensively damaged. End stage kidney diseases are treated through dialysis or a kidney transplant. CT scan, ultra-sounds and MRIs are performed for accurate diagnosis of polycystic kidney disease and prompt treatment accordingly.

About Me

In between talking way too much about my cats (Milo and Tiger for those of you who are pretending you don't know) I am a filmmaker and photographer.
After waiting nearly five years for a kidney with my name on it to pop up on the UK donor list, my wonderful friend Oli came forward as a donor and miraculously was a good match. His selfless act has completely changed my life and I literally feel as though I've got a brand new body.
Check out my work on hollycocker.tumblr.com and www.hollycocker.com
I also like stripy hats a lot.